Does running a single RAM stick noticeably affect gaming performance?

Posted by ikegotyou@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 21 comments

Hey everyone, I just built my first PC and I’m currently using a single RAM stick: Kingston Fury Beast 32GB (1×32GB) DDR4 3200MHz.

I’ve been reading about single-channel vs dual-channel memory, and now I’m wondering — should I get another 32GB stick to run dual-channel?

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WherePoetryGoesToDie@reddit

Yeah, can affect it as much as 20%.

Don’t get another stick. Returning the one you bought and buy a matched pair. Getting a separate non-matched stick will prob work, but for your first build it’s best to eliminate as many troubleshooting variables as possible.

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Silentone89@reddit

For it to work, I think it has to have the exact same specs (type, quantity, speed, latency and timing) but even then with two different brands (he'll even models from the same brand) things my not work together so in the end its better to just get rid of the one stick you have and get a pair.

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WherePoetryGoesToDie@reddit

Nah, not for DDR4 these days. The technology is mature enough that you can just sort of slap RAM in willy-nilly and the system will automatically downclock everything to the lowest common denominator timing/speed-wise while probably remaining stable. I've got a system running 2x8 3200/CL16 and 2x8 3600/CL18--both from different companies--at 3200/CL18.

It's definitely not best practice, and 100% not something you'd recommend to a first-time builder where you really want stability as much as possible, but it's not something to shy away from if you have an old system in need of a RAM upgrade.

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ExpeditionItchyKnee@reddit

Your defeating alot of the advantages of running dual channel by running your ram at 3200 though lol

The whole point of this thread is that speed is more important than size (as long as youve got 16gb total or more)

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WherePoetryGoesToDie@reddit

I'm not sure where you've picked up that I'm recommending this? Quote the sentence for me, please.

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Bichslapin@reddit

Yeah, I've never had mismatched sticks be a problem and I've had them in multiple of my pcs. I try to keep pcs I build for people with matching sticks, but when the budget is miniscule, you do what you can

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misteryk@reddit

i was upgrading on a budget and got ryzen 5600 and 1 stick of 32gbm i was like "i only have 2 slots so i'll just buy 1 stick to keep place for 2nd in case i need more" and now my stick costs 4x more so i guess i'm going to be stuck with 1 for some time

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ExpeditionItchyKnee@reddit

Your better off with two 8gbs than one 32gb !

If your doing any modern gaming single channel is like shooting yourself in the foot before you even begin.

You could have a 5090 and top of like cpu and games are still going to be a mess due to asset streaming

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baverdi@reddit

What about for just general internet browsing? Parents PC only has one stick of ram would that slow them down?

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ExpeditionItchyKnee@reddit

Not an issue at all for most non gaming. Even workload things like rendering and computation don't matter so much.

It's just modern gaming that streams assets to and from the ram so much

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artaru@reddit

Great advice!

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ikegotyou@reddit (OP)

Thank you so much!

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Serious-Map-1230@reddit

Yes this

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ExpeditionItchyKnee@reddit

I was running two different brand 8gbs last year and when bf6 came out I couldn't get it to run properly at all without without xmp(dual channel).

So I grabbed two no name 8gb ddr4 sticks for $40 from an eco shop. Suddenly my years of stuttering in cs2 are fixed and there's improvements in lots of other games.

I had never realized how much I was stinting myself running single channel

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TetePepeF@reddit

yeah, it does. DDR4 really wants dual channel and AMD will love you if you have it (intel will as well, but AMD is just notorious for loving good ram). my advice, sell or return your single stick and get two 16 gig sticks

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ghostfreckle611@reddit

Big time.

Also, affects your iGPU l’s performance a lot.

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Metallicat95@reddit

Yes.

But you probably don't need 64 GB of RAM. Even 32 is more than is necessary for most games. You should get a matched RAM kit with two sticks, either 2x8GB or 2x16GB. With current prices you can either return or sell your current RAM to make up for the cost.

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ikegotyou@reddit (OP)

Thank you for the advise. I'll probably just sell it and get 2x16GB

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